(א) וַיְהִ֗י אַחַר֙ הַדְּבָרִ֣ים הָאֵ֔לֶּה וְהָ֣אֱלֹהִ֔ים נִסָּ֖ה אֶת־אַבְרָהָ֑ם וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֵלָ֔יו אַבְרָהָ֖ם וַיֹּ֥אמֶר הִנֵּֽנִי׃(ב) וַיֹּ֡אמֶר קַח־נָ֠א אֶת־בִּנְךָ֨ אֶת־יְחִֽידְךָ֤ אֲשֶׁר־אָהַ֙בְתָּ֙ אֶת־יִצְחָ֔ק וְלֶךְ־לְךָ֔ אֶל־אֶ֖רֶץ הַמֹּרִיָּ֑ה וְהַעֲלֵ֤הוּ שָׁם֙ לְעֹלָ֔ה עַ֚ל אַחַ֣ד הֶֽהָרִ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֖ר אֹמַ֥ר אֵלֶֽיךָ׃...(ז) וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יִצְחָ֜ק אֶל־אַבְרָהָ֤ם אָבִיו֙ וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אָבִ֔י וַיֹּ֖אמֶר הִנֶּ֣נִּֽי בְנִ֑י וַיֹּ֗אמֶר הִנֵּ֤ה הָאֵשׁ֙ וְהָ֣עֵצִ֔ים וְאַיֵּ֥ה הַשֶּׂ֖ה לְעֹלָֽה׃(ח) וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ אַבְרָהָ֔ם אֱלֹהִ֞ים יִרְאֶה־לּ֥וֹ הַשֶּׂ֛ה לְעֹלָ֖ה בְּנִ֑י וַיֵּלְכ֥וּ שְׁנֵיהֶ֖ם יַחְדָּֽו׃(ט) וַיָּבֹ֗אוּ אֶֽל־הַמָּקוֹם֮ אֲשֶׁ֣ר אָֽמַר־ל֣וֹ הָאֱלֹהִים֒ וַיִּ֨בֶן שָׁ֤ם אַבְרָהָם֙ אֶת־הַמִּזְבֵּ֔חַ וַֽיַּעֲרֹ֖ךְ אֶת־הָעֵצִ֑ים וַֽיַּעֲקֹד֙ אֶת־יִצְחָ֣ק בְּנ֔וֹ וַיָּ֤שֶׂם אֹתוֹ֙ עַל־הַמִּזְבֵּ֔חַ מִמַּ֖עַל לָעֵצִֽים(י) וַיִּשְׁלַ֤ח אַבְרָהָם֙ אֶת־יָד֔וֹ וַיִּקַּ֖ח אֶת־הַֽמַּאֲכֶ֑לֶת לִשְׁחֹ֖ט אֶת־בְּנֽוֹ׃(יא) וַיִּקְרָ֨א אֵלָ֜יו מַלְאַ֤ךְ יְהוָה֙ מִן־הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וַיֹּ֖אמֶר אַבְרָהָ֣ם ׀ אַבְרָהָ֑ם וַיֹּ֖אמֶר הִנֵּֽנִי׃(יב) וַיֹּ֗אמֶר אַל־תִּשְׁלַ֤ח יָֽדְךָ֙ אֶל־הַנַּ֔עַר וְאַל־תַּ֥עַשׂ ל֖וֹ מְא֑וּמָּה כִּ֣י ׀ עַתָּ֣ה יָדַ֗עְתִּי כִּֽי־יְרֵ֤א אֱלֹהִים֙ אַ֔תָּה וְלֹ֥א חָשַׂ֛כְתָּ אֶת־בִּנְךָ֥ אֶת־יְחִידְךָ֖ מִמֶּֽנִּי׃
Genesis 22:1-12
(1) Some time afterward, God put Abraham to the test. He said to him, “Abraham,” and he answered, “Here I am.”(2) And He said, “Take your son, your favored one, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the heights that I will point out to you.”...(6) Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and put it on his son Isaac. He himself took the firestone and the knife; and the two walked off together.(7) Then Isaac said to his father Abraham, “Father!” And he answered, “Here I am, my son.” And he said, “Here are the firestone and the wood; but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?”(8) And Abraham said, “God will see to the sheep for His burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them walked on together.(9) They arrived at the place of which God had told him. Abraham built an altar there; he laid out the wood; he bound his son Isaac; he laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.(10) And Abraham picked up the knife to slay his son.(11) Then an angel of the LORD called to him from heaven: “Abraham! Abraham!” And he answered, “Here I am.”(12) And he said, “Do not raise your hand against the boy, or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your favored one, from Me.”
שמות ג׳:א׳-ד׳
(א) וּמֹשֶׁ֗ה הָיָ֥ה רֹעֶ֛ה אֶת־צֹ֛אן יִתְר֥וֹ חֹתְנ֖וֹ כֹּהֵ֣ן מִדְיָ֑ן וַיִּנְהַ֤ג אֶת־הַצֹּאן֙ אַחַ֣ר הַמִּדְבָּ֔ר וַיָּבֹ֛א אֶל־הַ֥ר הָאֱלֹהִ֖ים חֹרֵֽבָה׃ (ב) וַ֠יֵּרָא מַלְאַ֨ךְ יְהֹוָ֥ה אֵלָ֛יו בְּלַבַּת־אֵ֖שׁ מִתּ֣וֹךְ הַסְּנֶ֑ה וַיַּ֗רְא וְהִנֵּ֤ה הַסְּנֶה֙ בֹּעֵ֣ר בָּאֵ֔שׁ וְהַסְּנֶ֖ה אֵינֶ֥נּוּ אֻכָּֽל׃ (ג) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר מֹשֶׁ֔ה אָסֻֽרָה־נָּ֣א וְאֶרְאֶ֔ה אֶת־הַמַּרְאֶ֥ה הַגָּדֹ֖ל הַזֶּ֑ה מַדּ֖וּעַ לֹא־יִבְעַ֥ר הַסְּנֶֽה׃ (ד) וַיַּ֥רְא יְהוָ֖ה כִּ֣י סָ֣ר לִרְא֑וֹת וַיִּקְרָא֩ אֵלָ֨יו אֱלֹהִ֜ים מִתּ֣וֹךְ הַסְּנֶ֗ה וַיֹּ֛אמֶר מֹשֶׁ֥ה מֹשֶׁ֖ה וַיֹּ֥אמֶר הִנֵּֽנִי׃
Exodus 3:1-4
(1) Now Moses, tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian, drove the flock into the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.(2) An angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire out of a bush. He gazed, and there was a bush all aflame, yet the bush was not consumed.(3) Moses said, “I must turn aside to look at this marvelous sight; why doesn’t the bush burn up?”(4) When the LORD saw that he had turned aside to look, God called to him out of the bush: “Moses! Moses!” He answered, “Here I am.”
5 "Moses wrote his own book"
Author: Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg
SEEKING HEARTLAND
Why does Moses choose to descend from his pedestal of privileged knowing? Perhaps, simply, in order to cross over to his people before he dies. He is now the storyteller, whose authority lies in his approaching death. As the storyteller, he reaches across the gap between teacher and student, analyst and patient. His real life is concentrated in the unforgettable force of his final narratives:
. . . not only a man’s knowledge or wisdom, but, above all, his real life—and this is the stuff that stories are made of—first assumes transmissible form at the moment of his death. Just as a sequence of images is set in motion inside a man as his life comes to an end—unfolding the views of himself under which he has encountered himself without being aware of it—suddenly in his expressions and looks the unforgettable emerges and imparts to everything concerning him that authority which even the poorest wretch in dying possesses for the living around him. This authority is at the very source of the story.42Walter Benjamin, “The Storyteller,” in Illuminations (London: Collins/Fontana Books, 1973), 94.
But Moses is also, even before the explicit poetry of chapters 32–33, the poet. In his last speeches, he positions himself, as a poet, at the edge of his own being. His words are in passage, reaching through time. Paul Celan describes the lonely flight of the poem:
A poem . . . can be a message in a bottle, sent out in the—not always greatly hopeful—belief that somewhere and sometime it could wash up on land, on heartland perhaps.43John Felstiner, Paul Celan (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1995), 115.
The poem is lonely. It is lonely and en route. Its author stays with it.44Anne Carson, Economy of the Unlost (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1999), 69.
Here is the paradox: the poem is essentially dialogue, but it is lonely, not greatly hopeful, yet still hopeful of a hearing. “Hear o Israel . . . !” As poet-storyteller, Moses yields his authority and unappeasably seeks out “heartland” for his poem: “I on the way to myself.”45Ibid. He invites his people to a new kind of listening, and seeing, and knowing.
This means acknowledging that he, too, is in ignorance of his own full meaning—the condition that Felman calls, “the poetic ignorance of his own knowledge.”46Shoshana Felman, Jacques Lacan and the Adventure of Insight (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1987), 94. His original response to God’s call (Moshe! Moshe! [Ex. 3:4]) had been, Hineni—Here I am! For Levinas, this translates as “me voici!” Paul Ricoeur in turn translates this as “It’s me here”—“Who am I, so inconstant, that nevertheless you can count on me?”47Donna Orange, The Suffering Stranger (New York: Routledge, 2011), 50–51. For Ricoeur, this expresses a “trust in the power to say, in the power to do, in the power to recognize oneself as a character in a narrative.”
In the ethical moment of encounter with the Other, Moses responded out of the anguish of his fragmented identity that, nevertheless, trusts that he is indeed a character in a narrative. His complex response is the “chord” effect of Hineni and Mi anochi?—“It’s me here!” and “Who am I?”
It is this trust that, in his last months, he transfers; he goes across from his relation with God to his relation with the people. At the end of a life of conveying God’s words to them and of speaking on their behalf to God, he now addresses them as a storyteller, as a poet.
He presents himself to them—Hineni—without omniscience or omnipotence, but with the trust that he is indeed a character in the narrative. Perhaps this is why the Torah calls him “the most humble man (anav) on the face of the earth” (Num. 12:3). Perhaps Moses’ anava is precisely this deep knowledge of being haunted by history as well as mysteriously attuned to the call of the Other.
(ה) הֲכָזֶ֗ה יִֽהְיֶה֙ צ֣וֹם אֶבְחָרֵ֔הוּ י֛וֹם עַנּ֥וֹת אָדָ֖ם נַפְשׁ֑וֹ הֲלָכֹ֨ף כְּאַגְמֹ֜ן רֹאשׁ֗וֹ וְשַׂ֤ק וָאֵ֙פֶר֙ יַצִּ֔יעַ הֲלָזֶה֙ תִּקְרָא־צ֔וֹם וְי֥וֹם רָצ֖וֹן לַיהוָֽה׃ (ו) הֲל֣וֹא זֶה֮ צ֣וֹם אֶבְחָרֵהוּ֒ פַּתֵּ֙חַ֙ חַרְצֻבּ֣וֹת רֶ֔שַׁע הַתֵּ֖ר אֲגֻדּ֣וֹת מוֹטָ֑ה וְשַׁלַּ֤ח רְצוּצִים֙ חָפְשִׁ֔ים וְכָל־מוֹטָ֖ה תְּנַתֵּֽקוּ׃ (ז) הֲל֨וֹא פָרֹ֤ס לָֽרָעֵב֙ לַחְמֶ֔ךָ וַעֲנִיִּ֥ים מְרוּדִ֖ים תָּ֣בִיא בָ֑יִת כִּֽי־תִרְאֶ֤ה עָרֹם֙ וְכִסִּית֔וֹ וּמִבְּשָׂרְךָ֖ לֹ֥א תִתְעַלָּֽם׃ (ח) אָ֣ז יִבָּקַ֤ע כַּשַּׁ֙חַר֙ אוֹרֶ֔ךָ וַאֲרֻכָתְךָ֖ מְהֵרָ֣ה תִצְמָ֑ח וְהָלַ֤ךְ לְפָנֶ֙יךָ֙ צִדְקֶ֔ךָ כְּב֥וֹד יְהוָ֖ה יַאַסְפֶֽךָ׃ (ט) אָ֤ז תִּקְרָא֙ וַיהוָ֣ה יַעֲנֶ֔ה תְּשַׁוַּ֖ע וְיֹאמַ֣ר הִנֵּ֑נִי אִם־תָּסִ֤יר מִתּֽוֹכְךָ֙ מוֹטָ֔ה שְׁלַ֥ח אֶצְבַּ֖ע וְדַבֶּר־אָֽוֶן׃ (י) וְתָפֵ֤ק לָֽרָעֵב֙ נַפְשֶׁ֔ךָ וְנֶ֥פֶשׁ נַעֲנָ֖ה תַּשְׂבִּ֑יעַ וְזָרַ֤ח בַּחֹ֙שֶׁךְ֙ אוֹרֶ֔ךָ וַאֲפֵלָתְךָ֖ כַּֽצָּהֳרָֽיִם׃
Isaiah 58:5-10
(5) Is such the fast I desire, A day for people to starve their bodies? Is it bowing the head like a bulrush And lying in sackcloth and ashes? Do you call that a fast, A day when the LORD is favorable?(6) No, this is the fast I desire: To unlock fetters of wickedness, And untie the cords of the yoke To let the oppressed go free; To break off every yoke. (7) It is to share your bread with the hungry, And to take the wretched poor into your home; When you see the naked, to clothe him, And not to ignore your own kin. (8) Then shall your light burst through like the dawn And your healing spring up quickly; Your Vindicator shall march before you, The Presence of the LORD shall be your rear guard. (9) Then, when you call, the LORD will answer; When you cry, God will say: Here I am. If you banish the yoke from your midst, The menacing hand, and evil speech, (10) And you offer your compassion to the hungry And satisfy the famished creature— Then shall your light shine in darkness, And your gloom shall be like noonday.
תפילת מוסף, הנני
הִנְנִי
הֶעָנִי מִמַּֽעַשׂ,
נִרְעַשׁ וְנִפְחַד
מִפַּֽחַד
יוֹשֵׁב תְּהִלּוֹת יִשְׂרָאֵל.
בָּֽאתִי לַעֲמֹד וּלְהִתְחַנֵּן לְפָנֶֽיךָ
עַל עַמְּךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל
אֲשֶׁר שְׁלָחֽוּנִי.
אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁאֵינִי כְּדַאי
וְהָגוּן לְכָךְ.
לָכֵן אֲבַקֵּשׁ מִמְּךָ אֱלֹהֵי אַבְרָהָם
אֱלֹהֵי יִצְחָק וֵאלֹהֵי יַעֲקֹב.
יְהֹוָה יְהֹוָה
אֵל רַחוּם וְחַנּוּן
אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל.
שַׁדַּי אָיוֹם וְנוֹרָא,
הֱיֵה נָא מַצְלִֽיחַ דַּרְכִּי
אֲשֶׁר אֲנִי הוֹלֵךְ
לַעֲמֹד וּלְבַקֵּשׁ רַחֲמִים
עָלַי
וְעַל שׁוֹלְחָי.
נָא אַל תַּפְשִׁיעֵם בְּחַטֹּאתַי
וְאַל תְּחַיְּבֵם בַּעֲוֹנוֹתַי.
כִּי חוֹטֵא וּפוֹשֵֽׁעַ אָֽנִי.
וְאַל יִכָּלְמוּ
בִּפְשָׁעַי
וְאַל יֵבֽוֹשׁוּ הֵם בִּי
וְאַל אֵבוֹשׁ אֲנִי בָּהֶם.
וְקַבֵּל תְּפִלָּתִי
כִּתְפִלַּת זָקֵן
וְרָגִיל
וּפִרְקוֹ נָאֶה
וּזְקָנוֹ מְגֻדָּל
וְקוֹלוֹ נָעִים
וּמְעֻרָב בְּדַֽעַת עִם הַבְּרִיּוֹת.
וְתִגְעַר בַּשָּׂטָן לְבַל יַשְׂטִינֵֽנִי.
וִיהִי נָא דִלּוּגֵֽנוּ
עָלֶֽיךָ אַהֲבָה.
וְעַל כָּל פְּשָׁעִים
תְּכַסֶּה בְּאַהֲבָה.
וְכָל צָרוֹת וְרָעוֹת
הֲפָךְ נָא לָנוּ וּלְכָל יִשְׂרָאֵל
לְשָׂשׂוֹן וּלְשִׂמְחָה
לְחַיִּים וּלְשָׁלוֹם.
הָאֱמֶת וְהַשָּׁלוֹם אֱהָֽבוּ
וְלֹא יְהִי שׁוּם מִכְשׁוֹל
בִּתְפִלָּתִי.
וִיהִי רָצוֹן מִלְּפָנֶֽיךָ יְהֹוָה
אֱלֹהֵי אַבְרָהָם יִצְחָק וְיַעֲקֹב.
הָאֵל
הַגָּדוֹל הַגִּבּוֹר וְהַנּוֹרָא.
אֵל עֶלְיוֹן.
אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה.
שֶׁכָּל הַמַּלְאָכִים
שֶׁהֵם מַעֲלֵי תְפִלּוֹת.
יָבִֽיאוּ תְפִלָּתִי
לִפְנֵי כִסֵּא כְבוֹדֶֽךָ.
וְיַצִּֽיגוּ אוֹתָהּ לְפָנֶֽיךָ.
בַּעֲבוּר כָּל
הַצַּדִּיקִים וְהַחֲסִידִים וְהַיְּשָׁרִים.
וּבַעֲבוּר כְּבוֹד שִׁמְךָ
הַגָּדוֹל וְהַנּוֹרָא.
כִּי אַתָּה שׁוֹמֵֽעַ תְּפִלַּת
עַמְּךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּרַחֲמִים.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה
שׁוֹמֵֽעַ תְּפִלָּה:
Musaf, Hineni
This prayer is said by the Chazzan before the Musaf Service.
Behold, I stand here,
impoverished in good deeds,
perturbed and frightened
in fear [of Him,]
Who is enthroned upon the praises of Yisrael.
I have come to stand and to plead before You
in behalf of Your people, Yisrael,
who have appointed me their messenger;
even though I am not worthy
or qualified for the task.
I therefore beseech You, God of Avraham,
God of Yitzchak and God of Yaakov;
Adonoy, Adonoy,
Almighty, Compassionate and Gracious,
God of Yisrael,
Shaddai, Eminent and Awesome,
please, help me succeed in the mission
which I have undertaken
to stand [before You] and to seek mercy
for myself
and for those who have appointed me.
Do not hold them responsible for my sins,
nor condemn them for my iniquities,
as I am a sinner and a transgressor.
Let them not be disgraced
through my transgressions;
may they not be ashamed of me,
nor may I be ashamed of them.
Accept my prayer
as the prayer of one who is mature
and experienced [in prayer],
and as one who is respected,
whose beard is full-grown,
whose voice is pleasant,
and who is pleasing to his fellow man.
Rebuke Satan that he not accuse me,
and may our assembling
[be acceptable] to You with love;
and may all [our] transgressions
be covered over with [Your] love.
All our troubles and afflictions;
please turn them for us and all Yisrael
into happiness and joy,
life and peace.
May they love truth and peace,
and may there be no impediment
in my prayer.
And may it be Your will, Adonoy,
God of Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov,
the Almighty,
the Great, the Powerful, the Awesome,
most high, Almighty,
[Who is known by the Name]:
“I am that I am”
that all the angels
who convey prayers,
may they bring my prayers
to the presence of Your glorious throne,
and present them to You
for the sake of all those who are
righteous, pious and upright,
and for the sake of Your glorious Name,
[which is] great and awesome;
for You hear the prayers
of Your people, Yisrael, with compassion.
Blessed are You
Who hears prayers.